Harry Birtwistle Explained

Harry Birtwistle
Fullname:Ryan James Harry Birtwistle
Birth Date:1 December 2003
Birth Place:Singapore
Position:Right wing-back
Currentclub:Oxford City
(on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Clubnumber:26
Youthyears1:2017–
Youthclubs1:Wolverhampton Wanderers
Years1:2021–
Clubs1:Wolverhampton Wanderers
Caps1:0
Goals1:0
Years2:2024–
Clubs2:Oxford City (loan)
Caps2:4
Goals2:0
Pcupdate:9 March 2024 (UTC)

Ryan James Harry Birtwistle (born 1 December 2003) is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays as a right wing-back for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers.[1]

Early life

Harry Birtwistle was born in Singapore on 1 December 2003 to an English father, John Birtwistle and a Singaporean Chinese mother, Rachel. He holds a Singapore passport.[2] [3]

Club career

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Harry Birtwistle was first spotted and scouted by the Wolves academy staff when he was eight years old, as part of a Wolves international training camp in Singapore. Birtwistle then moved from Singapore to England in 2017 and he signed a scholarship with Wolverhampton Wanderers. He broke into the under-23 side at the age of 17 and eventually started training with the first team after impressing the coaching staff.[4]

On 28 October 2021, it was announced that Birtwistle signed his first professional contract with the club which will run until the summer of 2024.[5] [6]

On 1 February 2024, Birtwistle joined Oxford City on loan until the end of the season.[7]

Personal life

Harry Birtwistle had applied to renounce his Singapore citizenship, but it was denied as Singapore's Ministry of Defence indicated he had yet to fulfil his National Service (NS) obligations. His family "stated that [he] would not be registering for NS".[8] His father, John, would later release a statement that the changes on work permit requirements for non-British citizens following Brexit had made it essential for Harry to keep his British citizenship to pursue a football career in the Premier League, and Harry had not wanted to intentionally skip NS.[9]

Career statistics

[10]

ClubSeasonLeagueFA CupEFL CupEuropeOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Wolverhampton Wanderers U212021–223030
2022–233030
2023–243030
Total9090
Oxford City (loan)2023–24National League7070
Career total7000000090160

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Football: Wolves defender Birtwistle, 17, 'so honoured' to be first S'pore-born player in EPL. The Straits Times. 27 October 2021. 10 April 2022. 10 April 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220410144021/https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/football-wolves-defender-birtwistle-17-so-honoured-to-be-first-spore-born-player-in. live.
  2. Web site: Wolves' Harry Birtwistle is first Singapore-born player to sign for EPL club . Yahoo . 27 October 2021 . 10 April 2022 . 2 December 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211202061942/https://sg.news.yahoo.com/wolves-harry-birtwistle-first-singapore-born-player-epl-club-133007263.html . live .
  3. Web site: Unleash the Roar project: Local core, but foreigners to add more. tnp.straitstimes.com. 21 September 2022. 22 September 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220922101823/https://tnp.straitstimes.com/sports/singapore-football/unleash-roar-project-local-core-foreigners-add-more. live.
  4. Web site: Harry Birtwistle: 'I've not seen my mum in almost two years. It’s tough. But being a footballer is what I want to do' . The Athletic . 14 October 2021 . 10 April 2022 . 10 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220410151029/https://theathletic.com/2886603/2021/10/13/harry-birtwistle-wolves-singapore/?amp=1 . live .
  5. Web site: Football: Wolves defender Birtwistle, 17, 'so honoured' to be first S'pore-born player in EPL . The New Paper . 27 October 2021 . 10 April 2022 . 25 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220525071048/https://tnp.straitstimes.com/sports/football/football-wolves-defender-birtwistle-17-so-honoured-be-first-spore-born-player-epl . live .
  6. Web site: Young wing-back Harry Birtwistle has signed his first professional contract with Wolves following a successful start to his first season at under-23 level. www.wolves.co.uk. 28 October 2021. 10 April 2022. 25 January 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220125233301/https://www.wolves.co.uk/news/academy/20211028-birtwistle-rewarded-with-professional-contract/. live.
  7. Web site: Oxford City announce THREE new signings. www.oxfordcity.co.uk. 3 February 2023.
  8. Web site: Sazali Abdul Aziz . 2021-10-29 . Wolves defender Harry Birtwistle's application to renounce his S'pore citizenship rejected The Straits Times . 2022-04-11 . www.straitstimes.com . en . 22 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220822031651/https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/football-spore-born-wolves-defender-harry-birtwistles-parents-applied-to-renounce-his . live .
  9. Web site: Harry Birtwistle's father: My son never wanted to renounce Singapore citizenship, skip NS . 2022-04-11 . sg.news.yahoo.com . en-SG . 22 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220922225904/https://sg.news.yahoo.com/harry-birtwistle-father-son-never-wanted-renounce-citizenship-skip-ns-140123915.html . live .
  10. Web site: Harry Birtwistle . www.wolves.co.uk . 10 April 2022 . 25 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220425235745/https://academy.wolves.co.uk/player/harry-birtwistle/ . live .